


Royally Screwed

by NeoNails



Category: Batman Beyond
Genre: Drabble, Dysfunctional Family, F/M, Introspection, Unrequited Crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-17
Updated: 2013-08-17
Packaged: 2017-12-23 18:38:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/929760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeoNails/pseuds/NeoNails
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Melanie Walker could never be accused of being a good girlfriend. She couldn't even be accused of being a girlfriend, really. Then Gotham happened. Really short, Mel-centered. Set during the show.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Royally Screwed

_I've been a bad, bad girl_  
 _I've been careless with a delicate man_  
 _And it's a sad, sad world  
_ _When a girl will break a boy just because she can_

\- "Criminal," by Fiona Apple

* * *

Melanie Walker could never be accused of being a good girlfriend. She couldn't even be accused of being a girlfriend, really. She moved around too much, so whatever relationships she had were short and sweet. Sometimes they weren't even sweet. She was the daughter, granddaughter, and great-granddaughter of a family of thieves. She grew up too fast, but never had the heart (or the thought) to complain.

Then Gotham happened.

She wasn't a very smart girl- but she was street-smart, with lightning-quick reflexes and no attachments to anyone or anything. Never having a real home had that effect on a person. She was walking the streets one night, when she noticed a brightly lit dance club, pounding loud techno music and housing a few hundred gyrating teenagers. She sat outside, watching through the large pane windows. Melanie was a people-watcher; you didn't get attached when you only watched, not interacted.

She saw a handsome guy, about her age, get into a fight with a pretty Asian girl. He stormed out of the building, and, on a whim, she talked to him. This broke her people-watching code, but there was something about him. An old soul, someone who'd seen the same things she had, things no child that young should ever have to witness. She struck up a conversation, and wound up hooking up with him. A little faster than she was used to, but she just felt so instinctively connected to him. They met up again, and would've met up a few more times if she hadn't been caught by Batman and thrown in jail.

She'd like to put all her blame on Batman, but it was no use. It was her own damn fault. She was ready to kick Batman's ass, break out of prison like everyone else in her family had done before and bust as many skulls as possible. But then, as she was being carted off into the cop car, she saw, across the crowds of bystanders, police, and reporters, Terry McGinnis standing in the midst, just… staring at her.

She never felt so at fault in her life. She never felt so emotionally attached in her life. She hadn't meant to, but she had found a home in Gotham, and a home in those beautiful baby blues.

If only she hadn't screwed things up so royally.


End file.
